Daft Posted August 21, 2009 Author Posted August 21, 2009 Assassin's Creed II Kills Repetition With All-New "Secret Missions" Ubisoft's slow roll out of Assassin's Creed II information continued at Gamescom, with the game's creative director Patrice Desilets highlighting additional ways the sequel has improved. One major addition is a series of "secret missions" that feel Prince of Persia-esque. Assassin's Creed II's killer, Ezio, accessed that mission by showing off one of his new tricks. Between him and the entrance to that mission, set in the catacombs of the Santa Maria Novella church, were four guards. They were too heavily armored for Ezio to kill, even with his new dual-wrist blade double kill technique. So Ezio hired a quartet of mercenaries with some of the money he'd pick-pocketed and had them distract the guards. As that four-on-four fray played out, Ezio simply sneaked by, turned a skull shaped lock and slipped into the opening that appeared beneath him. There were no crowds in the depths of the Santa Maria Novella, just bats. Actually, after a bit of platforming and exploring—that's where the Prince of Persia and Tomb Raider feel came in—a handful of templars made an appearance. They didn't spot Ezio, who was skulking about high above them. Desilets waited for the group to split up before attack two of the templars at once, both with wrist blades direct to the neck. A third spotted him, who Desilets incapacitated with what appeared to be a smoke bomb, and Ezio made chase after the fourth. This sequence highlighted some of the improvements to the game's free-running platforming, which now includes a 90 degree swing-turn, helping Ezio speed through corners. The remaining templar sprinted through the catacombs, slowing Ezio down by closing a series of gates, forcing Desilets to find alternate paths. The entire sequence played out smoothly, better fulfilling the promise of graceful free-running with high intensity platforming. Desilets said that we should expect about four to five hours worth of gameplay in these secret locations. Only the one demonstrated is mandatory—it wrapped up with a cut scene that ties into the game's plot. It's also the simplest, he says, with others featuring more in the way of "big puzzles" along with bigger challenges. In addition to those secret missions—a gameplay addition that makes a lot of sense for downloadable content in the future—we got a look at some of Ezio's deadly new tricks. One is rather blunt, as Ezio can pack a single-shot pistol in his sleeve. We watched Desilets take out a sentry on a rooftop with the gun. The weapon is lethal and quick, but comes with a catch, as lining up your shot isn't as simple as point and shoot. When Ezio aimed the pistol, there was a bit of a delay, as the firing reticule—initially a wide cone—slowly shrank until it was aimed directly at Ezio's prey. Good for kills, but probably not something you'll want to use in a pinch. Ezio's other new assassination tool is a vial of poison, which he can purchase from an apothecary. Desilets used it during a mission that showed off Assassin's Creed II's new "Eagle Vision" which can now be used during play and in third-person. Ezio's target was a man protected by a bodyguard and the mission requirements specified that no one could be alerted to the kill. The solution was to poison the tip of Ezio's wrist blade, prick the bodyguard and back off. When the poison began to take effect, the bodyguard doubled over and appeared to start hallucinating, swinging the pike he was wielding wildly. He then took a fatal, accidental swing at the man he was supposed to protect, keeping the heat off of Ezio. For good measure, Desilets threw some of his coins on the ground, distracting the crowd from the violence with pocket change. All the Assassin's Creed II onscreen action we saw looked impressive, both visually and from a creative gameplay perspective. In addition to the new gameplay elements we'd already seen in our previous coverage of the game, we're becoming increasingly excited about Ezio's adventure. http://kotaku.com/5342666/assassins-creed-ii-kills-repetition-with-all+new-secret-missions
Aimless Posted September 3, 2009 Posted September 3, 2009 Here's a new gameplay trailer. Well, it's mainly just Ezio stabbing people with various implements to the backing of Justice, but you get the idea:
flameboy Posted September 26, 2009 Posted September 26, 2009 I have to be honest I have zero hype for this...I never completed the original cos it was just sooooooooooooo boring and having not completed it and not being totally up on the story means I've got into my head no matter how good this is I won't be playing it...
Daft Posted September 26, 2009 Author Posted September 26, 2009 I loved the first one to death. I've pre-ordered the CE. I really cannot wait. My most anticipated game of the year. More so than Uncharted.
Diageo Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 I loved the first one to death. I've pre-ordered the CE. I really cannot wait. My most anticipated game of the year. More so than Uncharted. Same here, first one was amazing. Dont know when i can get this one though.
... Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 Another fan of the 1st one here. This sequel is gonna be amazing, for sure! Those secret chambers and tombs below cathedrals sections are a very cool concept. I'd just like that they add some sort of fast travel. Riding through the Kingdom after every assassination was boring in the first one. Especially since you couldn't gallop without attracting enemies. It's a good thing the combat was so fun. The sword fighting in AC was very realistic and violent, loved it.
MATtheHAT Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 This is out on the 20th November right? Shit, I'll have to tell the kids Christmas is cancelled this year.
Choze Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 Pass. First was all style no substance. Same goes for the other ubisoft games.
SPAMBOT4000 Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 Absolutely loved the first one. Even though it did quite repetitive it took me a long while to get truly bored of it. Really hyped for this one as it looks like they're putting more effort into the missions.
Daft Posted September 27, 2009 Author Posted September 27, 2009 Another fan of the 1st one here. This sequel is gonna be amazing, for sure! Those secret chambers and tombs below cathedrals sections are a very cool concept. I'd just like that they add some sort of fast travel. Riding through the Kingdom after every assassination was boring in the first one. Especially since you couldn't gallop without attracting enemies. It's a good thing the combat was so fun. The sword fighting in AC was very realistic and violent, loved it. I hear this a lot but there is a quick travel option, I swear. It's just a bit tricky to get to. It comes up when you enter a load screen for the Kingdom. It could definitely be more accessible. I really loved the fighting in AC. They could give it a tweak to make it a bit deeper (which I think they've done) but it was so satisfying gouging your sword into someone's neck and sliding it down. Brutal stuff. Also the ability to use loads of different weapons is ace. Can't wait. I loved fighting with the daggers in the first one.
Cube Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 Hopefully they've re-invented the combat, mini-missions, main missions (what's the point in collecting data in the mini-missions if all you need to do is wander to a marker and kill everyone?), blandness of the area (they look like they've done this one), story and just about everything else.
Gizmo Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 Repetitive though the first was, I loved it, and will definately be getting this. One thing I hope is improved is the ability to assassinate. Like, if I lock onto a target from a rooftop who is below me, I want to be able to jump straight onto him, rather dropping beside him and alerting the guards. Other than that it's the obvious; more variety, better cutscenes (the ability to wander in a 3*1 rectangle while being talked at does not an interactive cutscene make) and lots more target stalking.
... Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 I hear this a lot but there is a quick travel option, I swear. It's just a bit tricky to get to. It comes up when you enter a load screen for the Kingdom. It could definitely be more accessible. Yeah, you're absolutely right, my mistake. When you enter the Kingdom you can select your location. But still, the road from Masyaf up till the Kingdom is a bit long and there's absolutely nothing to it. You have to get out of the castle, go down the whole village and then ride for another good 20 seconds or so until you reach the Kingdom. It's a big chore. I loved fighting with the daggers in the first one. What I loved were the throwing knives. When I went across a rooftop, sneaked behind a guard and stealth killed him with the hidden blade and right after that hit the other one in the distance with a throwing knife, that's when I truly felt like an assassin.
Jimbob Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 I've put this on my pre-order list, but i am requesting once it arrives to recieve it at Christmas unless i get a job before-hand. I'm looking forward to this day by day.
Aimless Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 I wonder if they've nerfed the hidden blade(s). Once you got the counter timing down in the first game you could literally one-shot every enemy. That said I tended to mix things up a bit anyway; Batman is similar in that the real fun in combat is taking everyone out stylishly rather than just coming out on top. The is my only other definite purchase — Uncharted 2 being the first — for the rest of the year. In many ways it looks like the game the first one should have been.
... Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 Batman is similar in that the real fun in combat is taking everyone out stylishly rather than just coming out on top. I don't have Batman (yet) but I agree about AC. However, I have to mention the fight against your 9th target... I really thought the difficulty of that fight had nothing to do with the rest of the game! it was about 100 times harder than anything that came before it, and nothing in the game prepared you for such a challenge all of a sudden after so many hours of playing. I thought it was kind of cheap, personally. The game had no difficulty curve, it was the same difficulty from the begining up till the 9th guy, and then suddenly boom!
Aimless Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 (edited) However, I have to mention the fight against your 9th target... I really thought the difficulty of that fight had nothing to do with the rest of the game! Are you talking about the man himself or fighting through all the goons up to him? I made judicious use of hidden blade countering for that part; I actually killed him on his first sword swing. You can't block whilst your blade is equipped so it does have one drawback, but even if your enemy is heavily armoured it only takes one counter to bring them down. Incidentally I've played the game twice — once on PS3 and the second time on 360 — and first time through that section I had a lot of trouble as I stuck to my sword and dagger. I don't want to labour the point too much, but seriously: hidden blade those bastards. Edited September 27, 2009 by Aimless Typo.
... Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 Are you talking about the man himself or fighting through all the goons up to him? Everything. Since there is no break between the fights, I consider it all just one fight. I already finished the game, but many attempts at that fight, by the time I got to him, my sync bar was already very low, so he killed me quite quickly. I used counters too (although not with the hidden blade) but as you know, enemies more often than not fake attacks and when you try to counter a fake attack, that leaves you open for a blow. And that's basically how it went.
Daft Posted September 27, 2009 Author Posted September 27, 2009 As soon as I got the fighting I never really found it too difficult. I'd switch to the daggers to make it a bit harder. The weight of the physics made the violence really satisfying. I also totally missed the whole timed hits thing where you press attack when your swords collide. I only found out about that when trying to get the achievement after I finished the game.
Cube Posted September 27, 2009 Posted September 27, 2009 Another thing they should fix: In the first game you could stab anyone and so straight into "hide mode" and stay over the dead body without arousing any suspicion.
Diageo Posted September 28, 2009 Posted September 28, 2009 What do you mean, go straight into hide mode?
Caris Posted September 28, 2009 Posted September 28, 2009 Pass. First was all style no substance. Same goes for the other ubisoft games. For once, I agree with exactly what you said.
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